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Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi: A Novel
Truely Noonan is the quintessential Southern boy made good. Like his older sister, Courtney, Truely left behind the slow, sweet life of Mississippi for jet-set San Francisco, where he earned a fortune as an Internet entrepreneur. Courtney and Truely each find happy marriages--until, as if cursed by success, those marriages start to crumble. Then their lives are interrupted...more
ebook, 0 pages
Published
January 6th 2009
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published December 15th 2008)
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The Hachette Book Group has a fantastic line-up of book releases this year. I just finished Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi by Nanci Kincaid. I wanted a book that would lift me up and make me feel more hopeful, and that's exactly what Nanci Kincaid delivers.
We are presented with a family in Mississippi that is very typical of what we might think of as a traditional small town, southern family. By the end of the book, we are witness to the formation of a new family, mostly self-chosen, 3000...more
We are presented with a family in Mississippi that is very typical of what we might think of as a traditional small town, southern family. By the end of the book, we are witness to the formation of a new family, mostly self-chosen, 3000...more
When I saw this title at the library, I immediately picked it up since I am from Mississippi. With that said, I'm very torn about this book. I was amused by this book and enjoyed it, and I don't feel like I wasted time in my life reading this book that I would really like to have back. At the same time, I feel kind of ashamed for not hating the book more. It was extremely problematic. The characters were stereotypical - the blacks, the white southerners, the cheaters, the women, the born-agains....more
1 like · like · see review
I grabbed this book because I had no fiction on hand and the train was coming. I was a bit leery, both because of the title (a bit too cute) and the way the author spelled her first name. Yes, I judge a book by its cover, it's author's name and its title, along with a host of other things. But 5o pages in, I was hooked and want to read everything Nanci Kincaid has ever written.
The synopsis of the book is a bit off. Don't get impatient because you are pretty far in and the "troubled teenager" has...more
The synopsis of the book is a bit off. Don't get impatient because you are pretty far in and the "troubled teenager" has...more
Loved it!
This is a reading for a book club. The story starts in Mississippi, but the action quickly moves to California. Many of the Southern traits are glimpsed in the two main characters: Truely and Courtney Noonan. Courtney, the older sister escapes to California to study art, but instead finds a rich man to marry. Truely, the younger brother, follows his sister to California, and makes a fortune. Both Truely and Courtney struggle through relationships, and in the end, find a young black young to ment...more
I tried for 125 pages to like this book, but I couldn't. I was offended as a Mississippian and could have cared less about the characters.
Didn't get much work done, just wanted to read on...a good story
Mar 27, 2009
Melissa
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Mom
Recommended to Melissa by:
EW
Kind of corny, but a good story that made me cry a little bit.
It was the unremarkable story of grown Mississipi siblings Courtney and Truely Noonan, who each after a failed marriage, end up taking in a troubled black youth named Arnold and ostensibly use helping him to heal themselves. It felt stiff, it felt like what people SHOULD do and feel, not what they really do and feel. I thought about stopping halfway through, but persevered after reading a review at Amazon who said it got better when Arnold entered the story (more than halfway through). Not in my...more
Truely Noonan and his older sister, Courtney, were born and raised in Hinds County, Mississippi. They both ended up going to college and settling in California. Courtney marries a very successful real estate developer and Truely marries a teacher who is out to save the world. They are both happy, and while they maintain a relationship, they’re not what you would consider close.
Several years pass, their parents pass away and both of their marriages disintegrate. Courtney turns to plastic surgery...more
Several years pass, their parents pass away and both of their marriages disintegrate. Courtney turns to plastic surgery...more
I bought this one, on my own, because it sounded like a highly appealing novel about a brother and sister who move away from the deep South to seek their fame & fortune in California, but don't end up happy or fulfilled as adults.
The storytelling was wonderful, if leisurely paced. Although
the novel covers Truely and his sister beyond their adolescence, both
continue to struggle with relationship issues; his sister Courtney
struggles with body image issues, and the book is in some ways about
id...more
The storytelling was wonderful, if leisurely paced. Although
the novel covers Truely and his sister beyond their adolescence, both
continue to struggle with relationship issues; his sister Courtney
struggles with body image issues, and the book is in some ways about
id...more
Overall, not a pretty good book. The ending was slightly anti-climatic and a bit muddled. I like the link between food and culture especially the food and culture of our youth, they become the worn comfy bathrobe of the characters successful wardrobes. There is an interesting exploration of family dynamics. There is also an exploration of cultural boundaries. The lack of clear answers to either of these questions may be the reason this book feels as if it lacks closure as the story ends.
This charming novel doesn't break any new ground, but its affirmation that opening one's heart to another person is the surest way to open our owns was lovely. Long a fan of Nanci Kincaid's novels, most notably Balls and Verbena, I was surprised and delighted to find another fresh voice from her. Some novelists -- even the great ones -- have a recognizable style and pattern that becomes predictable over time, but not Nanci. What a treat!
I finished this book and was interested in the storyline the entire time. I read that some reviews said it wasn't a plausible story and that there were some lapses in the continuity. I didn't feel that way. Yes, it might have been extreme to believe that all of it could happen to these people but it could have.... There were some unexpected parts that added to the suspense. I always wondered what would happen in the end....until the very last pages.
This started out as the story of Truely, who grew up in Mississippi and then moved to California to attend college. I enjoyed the story when it was about Truely, his sister, and his family. However, somewhere in the story the focus shifted to a young street kid, Arnold, who moves in with Truely after his divorce. Arnold's story just didn't seem to fit the "Mississipi" feel of the beginning of the book, and I didn't enjoy the story as much after that.
I really like the first half of the book when the focus was on the Mississippi family, mainly the siblings of the family, and their moving away to California at the beginning of their adult lives. It progresses through their failed relationships and somewhere takes a turn when the siblings take in a troubled, disobedient teenage boy. That was where I sort of lost interest in the story line.
Truely and Courtney Noonan are siblings from Mississippi who both end up making their fortunes and creating new families in California. When their fairy tale marriages start to crumble, they look to each other for comfort. When a troubled teenager, Arnold, comes into their lives, he helps them rediscover the true meaning of home and family.
A brother and sister from Mississippi end up financially successful in California, but emotionally struggling, until a young black kid from the ghetto manages to infiltrate their hearts and their lives. It's a subtle story of the making of a family.
Quote: "Secrets have a life span and shelf life."
Quote: "Secrets have a life span and shelf life."
An interesting story of two siblings who leave Mississippi and establish lives on the West Coast. This book was both predictable and surprisingly refreshing at time. Either way, it had me craving a giant mason jar filled with sweet, sugary iced-tea......(with a splash of vodka; of course).
This would be a great book from my book club for the food ideas! :-)
I was kind of perplexed by the story. At the end you could say there was a moral to the story, I suppose. But it was almost like there were too many strings going on therefore resolution was a bit unsuccessful.
I was kind of perplexed by the story. At the end you could say there was a moral to the story, I suppose. But it was almost like there were too many strings going on therefore resolution was a bit unsuccessful.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a simple book that was interesting to me. Perhaps it was the Southern culture (although lived out of the South) or the way they took in and helped a young man with a troubled past that intrigued me, but I really enjoyed this book.
Aug 16, 2009
Jodi Schiedel
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
southern-lit,
summer-2009
So, if I could do 1/2 stars this book would get a 2 & 1/2. It had some good parts & for the most part, good character development. A little too stereotypical of MS for my taste. I am a big fan of "southern lit", so a little exaggeration doesn't normally bother me, but some parts were overdone in this book. The main problem with this book was the fact that the whole book was mildly interesting at best. It didn't suck me in. A few times I considered not finishing it, but I don't like doing...more
Truely and his older sister Courtney grow up in a small Mississippi town. Courtney, the artistic one, is the first to leave and move to California. After high school, Truely follows suit. I loved their story as they both marry, have problems, etc. and form a wonderful relationship with Arnold, a young Black man, as he tries to better himself and the world around him.
This book kind of snuck up on me. At first I thought it was just an okay, sweet book, and then it became much more than that. I loved all of the characters and was a little disappointed at the end because it seemed to me like there was much more story to tell. I'm glad I picked this one off of the shelf!
Loved it. Strong characters with real life problems. The impressionable and troubled teenager Arnold was my favorite character. His interaction with Truely and Courtney helped both adults find meaning in their misguided lives.
I love southern fiction, this wasn't really southern fiction. The kitschy characters were kind of endearing, but the story falls kinda flat and has an abrupt ending. OK for a library read, but I wouldn't waste money to buy this one for my collection. Interesting but not much there.
If you enjoy Southern writing pick this one up! Very good. The South (especially Mississippi) will haunt you. Kincaid does an excellent job talking about leaving the South--and what you'll inadvertently carry with you!
It bothers me that I didn't really care for this book, because I seem to remember that I LOVED Kincaid's book, As Hot As It Was You Ought to Thank Me. But I don't really even remember that book, so it doesn't matter. This one...was kind of like reading a grown-up version of "See Spot Run." The author didn't really tell a story so much as simply describe what the characters were doing. Early on, it didn't bother me too much, but the middle of the book was a huge drag -- made worse by Kincaid's a...more
this looked like it would be a charming, quirky character driven book, and it was for the first 1/4. Then it became predictable, trite and preachy. Too bad! my run of great reads has ended! On to the next...
I've enjoyed all of Nanci Kincaid's work - until I read Eat, Drink, and be from Mississippi. I think I was simply unable to relate to the characters in this novel. It was an okay story but nothing more.
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“It was funny the way memory obliged the heart. His happy recollections were always afloat in his soupy subconscious where so many of his darker memories had sunk to the underbelly of his past and been as good as lost forever. But without conscious instruction, memory had edited and enlarged the finest moments of his life and stored them like masterpieces in the private gallery of his personal history.”
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3 people liked it
“Unlike some of his buddies, Truely had never been afraid of books. Following his daddy's example, he had read the newspaper every day of his life since the sixth grade, starting with the sports page. He had a vague idea what was going on in the world. It was true that Truely could generally nail a test, took a certain pride in it, but he was also a guy who like to dance all night to throbbing music in makeshift clubs off unlit country roads. He liked to drink a cold beer on a hot day, maybe a flask of Jack Daniel's on special occasions. He wore his baseball cap backwards, his jeans ripped and torn--because they were old and practically worn-out, not because he bought them that way. His hair was a little too long, his boots a little too big, his aspirations modest. He preferred listening to talking--and wasn't all that great at either. He like barbecue joints more than restaurants. Catfish and hush puppies or hot dogs burned black over a campfire were his favorites. He preferred simple food dished out in large helpings. He liked to serve himself and go for seconds.”
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1 person liked it
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Apr 15, 2009 11:42am
Apr 15, 2009 03:47pm